Dricus Du Plessis

Before joining the UFC, he was a two-time Middleweight and former Welterweight Champion of the Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) and the former KSW ...

He won his next fight against Trevin Giles via knockout in the second round at UFC 264, earning him the Performance of the Night award. In 2017, he returned to EFC and won the Middleweight Championship by defeating Yannick Bahati via guillotine choke submission in the first round. In 2015, Du Plessis made his Welterweight debut at EFC Africa 40, defeating Dino Bagattin in the second round via a rear-naked choke submission.

While Israel Adesanya's return to the octagon will come next month at UFC 287, there is already a contender looking to challenge him if he is able to ...

Speaking to The Schmo ahead of UFC 285, Dricus du Plessis revealed that he believes the No.1-ranked middleweight will finally be able to overcome his rival: Although Dricus du Plessis would like to fight for the title, he shared that would be happy with a No.1-contender fight, as long as [Paulo Costa](https://www.sportskeeda.com/player/paulo-costa) isn't his opponent, adding: Dricus du Plessis shared that he would like to challenge 'The Last Stylebender' while claiming that he will not face Paulo Costa. I honestly believe I'm facing Adesanya for that belt." "I honestly see Adesanya getting that title back... 'Stillknocks' had called for a bout against Paulo Costa following his UFC 282 victory over Darren Till.

At UFC 285, Derek Brunson's coach Dre Herd saw enough and threw in the towel to stop the Dricus Du Plessis onslaught.

Esteban Ribovics via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)](“https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-285-jon-jones-ciryl-gane-heavyweight-title-shevchenko-grasso-play-by-play-live-results”) Da’Mon Blackshear via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)](“https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-285-jon-jones-ciryl-gane-heavyweight-title-shevchenko-grasso-play-by-play-live-results”) [Loik Radzhabov def. Mana Martinez via majority decision (29-26, 29-27, 28-28)](“https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-285-jon-jones-ciryl-gane-heavyweight-title-shevchenko-grasso-play-by-play-live-results”) [Tabatha Ricci def. Viviane Araujo via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-27)](“https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-285-jon-jones-ciryl-gane-heavyweight-title-shevchenko-grasso-play-by-play-live-results”) [Marc-Andre Barriault def. Song Kenan via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:22](“https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/ufc-285-ian-garry-tko-win-conor-mcgregor-celebration”) [Cameron Saaiman def. Julian Marquez via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:12](“https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/03/ufc-285-video-marc-andre-barriault-vs-julian-marquez-tko”) [Ian Garry def.

Ranked Middleweights Brunson and Du Plessis do battle. Check out our UFC odds series for our Brunson-Du Plessis prediction and pick.

While Brunson is the better wrestler on the ground, Du Plessis has very good takedown defense and is extremely hard to bring down. I think the confidence of Du Plessis, coupled with the age discrepancy and activity in recent fights, will be the difference for him in this one. The issue here is that Du Plessis is extremely aggressive right out of the gate and will try to finish the fight before running out of gas. The level of confidence for Du Plessis is through the roof considering he has yet to lose in the UFC. Du Plessis is most dangerous in the opening round of the fight where he blitz opponents with strikes from awkward angles and throws powerful bombs. Du Plessis will want to keep this fight on the feet where he’ll have the advantage. For Brunson, the key to victory will be surviving the initial onslaught of Du Plessis, waiting for his gas tank to drain, and then controlling him on the ground. The wrestling is where he is at his best, holding opponents down and landing his signature concussive ground-and-pound. Brunson has a tendency to start the fight slow and eat a few shots before really feeling his opponent out. Brunson stands 6’1″ and has a 77-inch reach. Brunson will look to return to his streaking form against another hot fighter in Du Plessis. The UFC 285 Prelims continue rolling with this matchup of top-10 fighters in the Middleweight (185 lb) Division.

Watch UFC 285 full fight video highlights: Dricus du Plessis vs. Derek Brunson earlier tonight (Sat., Mar. 4, 2023) live on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile ...

Brunson tried to smile it off, but once he hit the canvas du Plessis landed brutal ground-and-pound to force the corner stoppage. Du Plessis, 29, is now 5-0 under the UFC banner with four memorable finishes along the way. Brunson started to tire in the second round and it allowed the South African fighter to absolutely unload with heavy shots.

Derek Brunson and Dricus Du Plessis fight at middleweight on the preliminary card of UFC 285 on Saturday, March 4. We go over start time, how to watch, ...

He is 4-0 and climbing up the ladder in the middleweight division. Brunson wins 52 percent of his bouts via KO/TKO and the other 30 percent via decision. Du Plessis (18-2) has been red hot since joining the UFC in 2020 when he made his debut at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Brunson (23-8) is entering this one coming off of a loss but is 4-1 in his last five. Results: Dricus Du Plessis defeats Derek Brunson via second-round TKO at the 4:59 mark. There are a total of 14 bouts between the three cards, headlined by two co-main events.

A key middleweight scrap at UFC 285 saw longtime veteran Derek Brunson set to face off with surging South African contender Dricus Du Plessis.

Du Plessis landed a left, and a kick to the body. Du Plessis then fought the wrists, and scrambled back to his feet just prior to the buzzer. Brunson was very active on bottom, latching on to a leg — and in turn, Du Plessis went for a foot lock of his own.

Dricus Du Plessis put on one of the most thrilling performances of the night at UFC 285 on Saturday in Las Vegas.

[MMA Fighting Global Rankings](https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/2/15/23599147/mma-rankings-february-2023-would-bellator-champ-johnny-eblen-beat-the-ufcs-best), will jump into the top 10 with his latest victory over the No. A Du Plessis (19-2) flurry ended the fight just before Round 3 after Brunson’s corner threw in the towel to save their fighter. Both fighters looked the worse for wear to start off Round 2, but Du Plessis showed the depths of his gas tank as he pushed the pace and met Brunson blow-for-blow until Brunson wilted and fell back to the mat.

SportsBrief.com News - Dricus du Plessis made it five wins out of five in the UFC as he overcame America's Derek Brunson in a hard-hitting middleweight bout ...

The bout was Du Plessis’ fifth fight in the UFC and also against his highest-ranked opponent thus far. Du Plessis survived and landed a shot of his own as the bell went for the end of the round. Du Plessis ended up on the mat and the American tried to capitalise with a rear naked choke.

Dricus du Plessis is now a UFC top-five middleweight after he battered Derek Brunson at UFC 285 in Las Vegas.

[CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES BY JAMES RICHARDSON](https://www.thesouthafrican.com/author/james-richardson/) [How much of a Momentum Proteas Women’s cricket fan are you? ALSO READ:

Dricus Du Plessis beats Derek Brunson in an exciting fight that saw the fans and commentators on the edge of their seats in a brawl at UFC 285.

Let us know in the comments. 😳 The southpaw position (left hand str8 down the pipe) was a real problem! [March 5, 2023] The back-and-forth brawl saw many fans being interested in the bout. Moreover, he was excited to get a win against a top 5 ranked. Furthermore, ‘Stillknock’ came into the fight with a 6 fight win streak as he looks to make a statement to get a big win.

Despite impressive wins at UFC 285 in Last Vegas, there were no lucrative performance bonuses for Dricus du Plessis nor Cameron Saaiman.

[CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES BY JAMES RICHARDSON](https://www.thesouthafrican.com/author/james-richardson/) [How much of a Momentum Proteas Women’s cricket fan are you? ALSO READ:

Las Vegas, NV — It was another big win for South Africa's Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 285, as he took Derek Brunson to the brink before Brunson's corner threw ...

Nobody else is winning the fights in the way I’m winning the fights, getting the finishes.” He came in with that fire in that first round, and when I continued with that pace in the second, I could see it broke his spirit.” All respect to him,” said Du Plessis in response. “If that’s a title eliminator fight, then that definitely makes sense.” In the first round, Derek Brunson always comes out banging in that first round,” Du Plessis told media outlets including Cageside Press. “And I was ready for that.

The middleweight contender thinks he's nearing UFC gold following his latest win inside the octagon. Du Plessis (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) stopped Derek Brunson (23-9 ...

I don’t know what the plans are with Chimaev because he wants to fight here, and then he wants to fight there. Although some might see his style as careless, Du Plessis thinks the results speak for themselves. “I know they maybe wanted to do the (Robert) Whittaker vs. “Paulo Costa had his chance,” Du Plessis told reporters at the UFC 85 post-fight news conference. Many suggested former title challenger Paulo Costa, whom Du Plessis had called out in the past, but the South African thinks he’s moved past him. The middleweight contender thinks he’s nearing UFC gold following his latest win inside the octagon.